Translator: Cinder Translations
...
"Beep beep beep—beep—!"
With the sharp sound of a horn, the guards of the lord's manor stood rigidly in two rows at the entrance.
Amid the cheering of the crowd in Alden Town, the commander of the Western Expeditionary Team, Gran, walked step by step towards the entrance of the lord's manor.
Paul, leading the members of the Administrative Council, was there to greet Gran and his several deputies at the door.
When Gran approached, Paul stepped forward and warmly embraced the adventurer.
"Please forgive me for speaking the truth. Before I heard that you had returned, I honestly thought you wouldn't make it back!"
"I can understand that, Lord Grayman. If I were in your shoes, I'd have thought the same," Gran replied.
Paul took Gran's hand and led him into the lord's manor, bringing him all the way to the grand hall.
A sumptuous feast had already been laid out, specially prepared to welcome the heroes of the Western Expeditionary Team.
After everyone had seated, Paul raised his glass and loudly proclaimed, "I propose a toast to Mr. Gran and his companions for their great achievements!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone raised their glasses in response to Paul's proposal and drank heartily.
"Everyone!" Paul said, his face glowing with excitement.
"I can confidently say that the discovery of the Western Expeditionary Team—proving with their actions that the Earth beneath our feet is round—will go down as one of the most important discoveries in human history. It will greatly reshape our worldview and profoundly impact the course of history in the future."
"Even now, I still find it unbelievable," Hansel added, "The Earth is round? It's hard to imagine what that must be like."
Paul turned to Gran. "Now, Mr. Gran, please tell us about your extraordinary adventure."
Of course, the experiences of the Western Expeditionary Team would be written up in a detailed report for him, but Paul couldn't wait for the official report to be completed.
"Lord Grayman," Gran began, "What about the other two expedition teams… What happened to them?"
On the way to Alden Town, Gran had already heard that the Northern and Eastern Expeditionary Teams had returned, but he hadn't learned their latest status. Were they disbanded? Or had they been given other important tasks?
"Oh, right, I should've updated you on their latest situation first! Haha."
"Stanford and the members of the Northern Expeditionary Team have now gone back to the area north of Rocky Mountain, where several trading posts have been established. They are conducting trade with the local indigenous people. You wouldn't believe it— the furs, medicinal herbs, and minerals from there are of exceptional quality. We also plan to introduce advanced agricultural technology and establish new farms, attracting the locals to work for us."
"As for Naylor and his Eastern Expeditionary Team, they discovered a new land in the southeastern part of the continent, where the indigenous people turned out to be the legendary elves. I've sent Naylor and his team there again, trying to establish a friendship with the elves. There's a certain mineral there that greatly interests me."
"Elves?" Gran raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, elves!" Paul gestured dramatically. "I mean, since you came from the other direction, didn't you encounter them along the way?"
"Lord Grayman, please allow me to tell our story from the beginning…"
Gran began recounting his adventure. "At first, we ventured deep into the ocean. The sea was so vast and endless that we thought, except for the continent where we came from, the rest of the world was all water. But just when we were about to give up and return, we encountered a small archipelago. The islands were covered with forests, plants, and animals."
"We obtained supplies from these islands. Perhaps the Lord of Light blessed us wanderers, because we discovered a miraculous tree on the island. Its fruit was large and round, and when roasted, it tasted like bread. We called it the bread tree. We also hunted and obtained some meat."
"The discovery of the islands gave us renewed confidence. Maybe there were even larger lands out there, so we continued sailing. Fortunately, we found a current that helped us sail faster! We discovered more islands, and the supplies we obtained from them kept us going."
"Finally, after four months of wandering, we encountered a continent—not a large island, but an actual continent!"
At this moment, Gran's eyes widened as he looked around at the gathered people.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what was on that continent?"
As expected, all eyes turned to him with curiosity.
"Beastmen!"
"Beastmen?" Paul exclaimed. "Are there beastmen on the continent across from us?"
"No, no, not the kind of beastmen we have here!" Gran explained. "We call the races beyond Rocky Mountain beastmen because they are barbaric and covered in fur, resembling wild beasts. But strictly speaking, there's no real animal that corresponds to them."
TLN: It might be confusing but the word used for Orcs and Beastmen is similar.
"But on the other continent, we found an indigenous race that had humanoid bodies but with the heads of bulls."
"Oh—!" A chorus of gasps echoed through the banquet, and everyone's eyes were filled with astonishment.
"Minotaurs?" Paul blurted out.
Gran nodded. "You could say that, Lord Grayman. From what we learned from the locals, that continent is home to not only bull-headed people, but other races with animal features as well. Their social structure is quite primitive, with each race living in tribes scattered across the continent."
"We also learned that to the south of that continent, there is another continent, home to a single race—the sheep people!"
"The sheep people have a more advanced civilization, with several true kingdoms…"
Paul interrupted, "Do they have sheep heads?"
"No!" Gran shook his head. "They look just like us humans, except they have goat or sheep-like horns on their heads, and their limbs are hands and feet, not hooves. With their more advanced civilization, the indigenous people of the northern continent call them a superior race."
Paul chuckled. "Interesting."
For a moment, he thought of demons or other similar creatures.
But Gran's expression grew serious. "Unfortunately, Lord Grayman, when we visited the sheep people's port, they… detained some of our people!"
(End of the Chapter)
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